What is a Psychiatrist?

A psychiatrist is a licensed medical doctor who specializes in treating mental illness, including depression, attention deficit disorder (ADD), stress, obsessive/compulsive disorder, phobias, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Unlike other mental health professionals, only psychiatrists can prescribe psychiatric medication, conduct physical examinations, and order lab tests. As opposed to psychologists, with whom they are often confused, psychiatrists are physicians who have completed four years of medical school and four years of psychiatry residency.